The monthly report includes the unemployment rate and the net number of jobs employers added to payrolls last month, excluding farm workers, general government employees and staff at non-profit organizations.

The report also includes estimates on the average work week and the average weekly earnings of all non-farm employees.

Non-farm payroll figures account for around 80pc of US workers who produce the entire GDP of the US.

Why were Septembers figures delayed by more than two weeks?

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Non-farm payrolls are normally reported on the first Friday of every month, but the figures for September were delayed due to the 16-day partial shutdown of the US government, which forced the US Labor Department to delay the key jobs report.

Will the shutdown affect the non-farm payrolls?

The effect of the shutdown will not be seen in today's jobs numbers as they are for September and the shutdown began on October 1.

The shutdown has meant that, aside from the delay to September's numbers, the release of October's payrolls has also been pushed back, by a week, and will now be reported on November 8.

The schedule will return to normal in December, with November's payrolls reported on December 6.

Why do we care about non-farm payrolls?

The report is seen as a critical measure of the economy's health. It is used to assist government policy makers and economists to determine the current state of the economy and predict future levels of economic activity.

The data has proven to be an important indicator of economic conditions because they move closely in line with the overall economy and are published monthly on a timely basis. In addition, payroll jobs data are published for a large number of industries; this industrial detail helps the US Federal Reserve to evaluate labour market and business conditions across a wide array of industries.

The Fed will also be paying close attention to the figures as this is the last payrolls report before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in late October.

If the jobs data is strong, speculation over whether the Fed can curb its $85 billion-per-month bond-buying program this year is likely to return, injecting some volatility into the currency market.

What are September's jobs numbers forecast to be?

Economists expect the numbers to show that the US economy added 180,000 jobs last month and while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 7.3pc.

That would be an improvement in Augusts figures, when 169,000 jobs were added, although it is worth noting that figure could be revised.